The Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Department for Bonneville County coordinates and assists GIS activities throughout Bonneville County governmental systems. The GIS Department is responsible for the collection and maintenance of geographic datasets used in Bonneville County. GIS for Bonneville County began in the mid 1980's, with creating the road network layer for emergency services, using Intergraph and Bentley products. Since then, GIS technology has become an integral part of many Bonneville County’s governmental functions including, but not limited to:

Property assessment

Road construction and maintenance

Election boundaries

Emergency services and enforcement

School boundaries

Land use and zoning issues

Court cases

What is GIS?

A geographic information system (GIS) integrates hardware, software and data to capture, store, manipulate, manage, analyze, report and display all forms of geographically referenced information. GIS allows us to view, understand, question, interpret, visualize and share data in many ways that reveal relationships, patterns and trends in the form of maps and reports.

GIS is utilized in many County departments for business and decision making processes. For example, but not limited to: Parcel maintenance (Assessor’s Office)Bridge inventory, county roads and their conditions, county addressing, sign inventory and management, culvert inventory data, road mileage (Public Works)Weed identification, location and services (Weeds)Zoning and land use (Building and Zoning)Precincts and other districts (Elections); etc.

Interesting facts about Bonneville County:

Bonneville County has approximately 56,000 parcels that are tracked and maintained using GIS through the Assessor’s Office

There are approximately 950 miles of summer and winter maintenance roads that are tracked and maintained using GIS through the Public Works Department

There are 8,935,319.4 ft of roads throughout Bonneville County

There is approximately 1,216,000 acres of land in Bonneville County (approximately 1,900 square miles)

The population of Bonneville County is approximately 104,000 according to the 2010 census

Questions and Answers

Question:Can I purchase County data in a shapefile format?Answer:The GIS department compiles parcel (in shapefile format) and other information that is available to purchase, quarterly. The information is available upon request and requires a payment of $106.00. A DropBox link will be sent to download the information or an ftp site is needed to upload the information. An Application for Release of Digital Data Agreement Form must be completed before receiving the disc.

Question:Do you have aerial photography?Answer:We have aerial photography dating back to the 1950's in hard copy and orthophotos (partial and full coverage depending upon the year) for the county from 1996 to 2013. We have aerial and oblique photography from a 2012 full-county flight.

Question:How accurate are the County's GIS maps?Answer:The answer depends upon many factors but mostly upon the source material used for acquisition. The County is not responsible for any inaccuracies with the data that is displayed or distributed. The County is constantly striving to place accurate information for all of their business applications.

Question:Why don't the parcels line up with aerial photography in some areas?Answer:There are many areas within the county that were mapped with less accurate methods compared to the areas that were mapped with modern surveying equipment. Bonneville County has previously used different coordinate systems throughout the county which also causes issues with the displays of information. The aerial photography was flown based upon one coordinate system. The County is continually working upon areas for greater accuracy.

Question:What coordinate system does Bonneville County use?Answer:Our mapping is in State Plane North American Datum (NAD) 1983_United States, Idaho East Zone, feet. We are continually working on greater accuracy.

Question:Why does my mailing address have a different city name than where I actually live?Answer:The U.S. Postal Service defines 'areas' within each county that are served by certain Post Offices. The zip code area that each Post Office delivers to is not constrained by city limits. The zip code areas may cover sections of incorporated areas as well as unincorporated areas.

Question:Where can I obtain a list of valid street names and or plat names within Bonneville County?Answer:Street names are managed in conjunction with Public Works department and the Cities within Bonneville County. The plat names are managed in conjunction by the Assessor's Office and the Public Works department.

Question:Can I buy a printed aerial photo of my property?Answer:Yes. There are fees associated with printing these maps. Please visit/call our office for fee structure.

Question:How often is the data updated?Answer:The frequency of the updates depends on how often the features being mapped change.

Question:Where can I obtain a map of the County?Answer:Click on the Map Gallery section above to view the PDF's that are currently available to download. You may also come into the GIS Department to have a large scale print made. Fees are applicable.

Question:What determines the school zone that I live in?Answer:Designated geographic districts determine which school your children will attend. Each of the school districts have contact information and/or current maps that you can call or access on their websites.

Current Projects for the GIS Department:

• Maintenance of current layers and datasets• Emergency Response Applications• Providing information for crime analysis• Continue our focus on improving the accuracy and quality of our GIS data• Participation in state-wide framework layers (TIM- The Idaho Map and EIRRC - Eastern Idaho Regional Resource Center• Possibly obtaining other data sets that the county does or does not have completed, such as LIDAR (3D ground surface data), higher quality aerial photography, central address database, etc. to help reduce costs of collecting data and making observations for further decision-making capabilities, etc.